Tag Archives: Economic Collapse

Sep 20 2022

Jim Cramer on Bear Stearns (2008)


Armstrong Economics Blog/Economics Re-Posted Sep 20, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

This is a reminder of why I warn against listening to the talking heads. Unlike advanced AI software, these mouthpieces speak from a biased perspective. On March 11, 2008, Jim Cramer told his audience on CNBC’s “Mad Money” that “Bear Stearns was fine!” At the time, the stock was going for $62 before crashing down to $2 only five days later.

When a viewer wrote in to Cramer to ask about Bear Sterns experiencing a liquidity crisis, Cramer shouted: “NO, NO, NO! BEAR STEARNS IS FINE! DO NOT TAKE YOUR MONEY OUT! If there’s one takeaway, Bear Stearns is not in trouble.” He added, “I mean, if anything, they’re more likely to be taken over. Don’t move your money from Bear. That’s just being silly. Don’t be silly.”

Cramer later tried to claim he never said to buy the stock, but was simply discussing the banking sector. He was trying to prevent a panic, he claimed. In reality, this man has repeatedly made poor calls, yet still remains on air. His screaming tirades are interrupted by commercials and his show is nothing more than the QVC of stocks.

Cramer is an entertainer. Even if I were to go on TV and make forecasts solely from my own viewpoint, I would be doing a disservice to my audience. If you’re looking for true analysis, then there is only one tool that is unbiased and capable of tracking every market around the world.

Sep 20 2022

Denver Tests Basic Income on Homeless


Armstrong Economics Blog/Socialist Re-Posted Sep 20, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Governments love to conduct social experiments on the masses. What would happen if we gave the most financially vulnerable in our population cash every month? The Denver Basic Income Project just approved a new general basic income program for a select number of homeless people who will now receive $1,000 per month in cash. The money came from the American Rescue Plan Act at the cost of $2 million.

Cash, as in the government is actually not tracing these purposes for a reason. They are targeting around 140 people, meaning this is an experiment. Do they plan to address why these individuals became homeless? Will there be mental health or drug evaluations? Will people have access to information and tools such as learning how to budget or re-enter society? Throwing money at problems is never the solution. Are there any tools to help people re-enter the workforce?

At worst, they will expand this program and continue to reward people not to work. Once they begin to hand out free cash, people will continue to expect free cash. We saw it with the COVID unemployment benefits, where people chose to leave the workforce as it was more lucrative than participating in society. The University of Denver’s Center for Housing and Homelessness Research plans to study this experiment funded by you.

Sep 20 2022

A One-Term President?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Sep 20, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The debate continues on whether Joe Biden will run for re-election in 2024. Any sane citizen clearly would not encourage him to continue ruining America. The Democrats have even voiced concerns over Biden’s effectiveness as a two-term president due to his frequent blunders and low poll ratings. His age and declining mental health have made him a difficult puppet to handle.

In a “60 Minutes” interview, Biden himself admitted he might not seek that second term. Or, perhaps, his handlers have not decided. Biden said he is relying on “fate” and that it is “much too early” to decide whether he is confident in his own ability as president. If he and/or his handlers were confident that he could be re-elected, legally or otherwise, Biden would be confidently stating his desire to continue his job.

Biden told CBS. In March 2021, Biden was confident that he was beginning a four-year term and told reporters he would run for a second term. Times have changed! In fact, Joe Biden said that previous statements about running again were simply intention statements. “Look, my intention, as I said to begin with, is that I would run again. But it’s just an intention. But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen,”

The entire interview aired like an ad for the Republicans. This happens every single time he strays from his script, and it is why he rarely makes media appearances in comparison to past presidents. Biden yet again misspoke and threatened war with a major power after saying that the US would defend Taiwan if China invaded. Yet again, the White House back-tracked on Biden’s comments – a difficult puppet indeed.

Sep 20 2022

Jim Jordan Outlines Claims by FBI Whistleblower


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on September 19, 2022 | Sundance

Representative Jim Jordan appeared on Tucker Carlson’s evening broadcast to outline the claims by a DC Bureau FBI whistleblower.  {Direct Rumble Link} In his framing of the statements from the FBI insider, Jordan states the FBI are intentionally diverting resources to investigate claims surrounding the J6 narrative in an effort to give the appearance of a national domestic extremist threat.  WATCH:

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The creation of a national narrative to inflate the appearance of Domestic Violent Extremists, would fall directly in line with the prior examples of the FBI politicizing their agency.

In semi-related news, Joe Biden quietly extended the 9/11/01 National Terrorism Emergency today. {LINK HERE} For 21 years the 2001 National Terrorism Emergency has been continued as a tool for the Dept of Homeland Security, through the FBI, to use powers not granted by congress.   Yes, twenty-one-years of continuous extensions.

Sep 20 2022

Joe Biden Responds to Inflation Question by Saying Things Could Be Worse


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on September 19, 2022 | Sundance 

Joe Biden’s economic policies, mainly driven by excessive spending and the Green New Deal climate change agenda, are the origins of massive inflation.

In an attempt to diminish the outcomes of his energy policy, the Biden administration has been releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, in an effort to curb gasoline prices.  However, that process is about to end as the SPR is becoming dangerously low and will need to be replaced (more spending).

When asked about the current status of inflation during a CBS interview, Biden responds by saying it could be worse, citing the last two months where the SPR spigot has been running at maximum release.  WATCH (48 seconds):

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Sep 20 2022

Curious Article, House Republicans Planning to Investigate Chamber of Commerce?


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on September 19, 2022 | Sundance 

An unusual article in The Intercept is noted with the following headline: “House Republicans Planning to Investigate The Chamber of Commerce if They Take Majority.”  The article is framed around the statements of an unnamed congressman, who appears –from the sourcing inference– to come from the House Judiciary Committee.

If you have followed the deep political weeds, you know the CoC is the anti-MAGA element within the America-First economic battle.  However, it is also true the CoC and the Washington DC UniParty members they feed with lobbying dollars are peas and carrots, this includes the entire republican establishment apparatus.

The republican party investigating the CoC is never going to happen.  It would be a move akin to Adam Schiff investigating the origin of Barack Obama’s birth certificate.

The CoC is not only an organization made up of lobbyists for Wall Street, but the members within it are also the close personal friends of just about every influential GOP politician.

The framework for the investigation, as written in the article, surrounds the leftist Environmental Social Governance (ESG) outlook of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is factually accurate.  The CoC is indeed an organization that is ‘all-in’ to position themselves for the benefits of climate change in the corporate sphere.  If there is money to be made from ESG economics, the CoC is the lobbying firm shaping legislation toward that benefit.

However, the CoC is too entrenched with republican party apparatus to ever have their agenda challenged by the “republican” politicians in DC.  So, what exactly is going on here?  A MAGA-minded republican within the House Judiciary Committee wants to investigate the CoC?

In a way I could envision someone like Jim Jordan (Ohio) wanting to do exactly that.  However, the internal republican elements in opposition to that goal would, unfortunately, still be too strong to allow something like a congressional investigation to take place.   Therefore, the article as written is best viewed as an agenda surfacing from within the republican ranks carrying some alternative purpose.

Despite the chamber positioning, opposing ESG is a no-brainer for the conservative base.

Any and all attacks against the ESG agenda are unifying efforts that bring conservatives and MAGA-minded America First voters together.

Unfortunately, that political reality also underscores the usefulness of ESG opposition as a political tool, to the professionally republican apparatus.   If you have followed the way DeceptiCons operate, now is the time to put on your Machiavellian hat.

The MAGA movement is -like the Tea Party that triggered it- essentially, at its core, a movement based on America-First economics.  The goals and objectives of the multinational corporations are against the interests of MAGA.  Hence, most corporate-aligned republicans (the establishment, per se’) are not supportive of the national MAGA movement.  Corporate republicans are paid by the interests that MAGA supporters despise.

There is one potential 2024 candidate who has pushed back against the ESG effort, at a state level.  Putting aside the substance of the pushback, a political talking point containing a history of action against the ESG effort is an arrow in the quiver of the Florida governor.  Unfortunately, at the same time as the ESG concern has become a point of policy reference, the Florida governor is taking massive amounts of money from the same people who benefit from ESG.

So, the question becomes: with DeSantis becoming increasingly visible as a corporate republican, is the identified anti-ESG outline of the article a way to enhance the America-First bonafide’s of DeSantis, by creating a unifying economic platform position?

The anti-ESG position would be a way to deflect from being a corporate republican.  In the aggregate this approach would diminish the concern of being a purchased corporate republican by giving the illusion of alignment with America First.

(The Intercept) – REPUBLICANS PLAN TO launch a variety of investigations into the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and many of its largest member corporations if they retake the majority in the House of Representatives this November. The probes, said a GOP member of Congress and multiple Republican operatives who requested anonymity to discuss plans that have yet to be made public, will marry Republicans’ newly formed hostility to the Chamber with the party’s mission to undermine the growth of the ESG investment sector.

The power of ESG — which stands for environmental, social, and governance — criteria to shape company valuations and behavior has become a major source of consternation among conservatives, who argue that companies that follow it are breaking with their fiduciary duty to maximize profits for investors.

The Chamber has infuriated Republicans by endorsing ESG criteria. “Today, for many companies, climate change and carbon emissions impact long-term value, thereby becoming a factor that retirement fund managers should take into consideration,” wrote a Chamber vice president in a typical statement in July 2020.

The congressman highlighted what he saw as the downfalls of that approach. Republicans accuse ESG advocates of using ESG criteria to punish American energy companies, only to then give an advantage to large, foreign energy companies over which the U.S. has little oversight anyways.

“How is it again that you can discourage investment in American energy when you own, or when you’re controlling board seats, of an American energy company, but you’re pushing it offshore to a Chinese energy company? Tell me you didn’t violate your fiduciary duty somehow,” said the congressman. “Then you throw that over into Judiciary [Committee hearings] and say, how do you reconcile this from an antitrust perspective? How can somebody actually be duty-of-care to the shareholders of one entity when you’re duty-of-care to the Chinese Communist Party’s-controlled energy company?”

“There is not going to be much to investigate,” said a Chamber spokesperson. “The Chamber is at the forefront of fighting the SEC climate, human capital and similar disclosures and believes fiduciaries must focus on maximizing return.” House Republicans, though, think the Chamber is having it both ways, criticizing the Securities and Exchange Commission rule but supporting the principle. (read more)

The lessons of the Tea Party being corrupted in 2011 and 2012 (collage reference below), through fraud and deceit by the republican establishment, should be the reference point for reviewing any DC centered effort to confront the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

“Unite the Right” is code speak for let your guard down.  We need to remove a lot more corporate republicans before we can lower our cynical guard….

…Battered Conservative, No More!

Sep 19 2022

The Mar-a-Lago Event, Part Four


The attached paper is a continuing and reasonable analysis of the events from September 3, 2022 to September 18, 2022 which is an event that will change the Republic forever. In this mad rush to save the planet from total destruction from green house gas emissions from carbon base fuels the worlds politicians are dismantling Western Civilization. Former President Trump is a major obstacle to Klaus Schwab, and his fellow radicals in the World Economic Form (WEF) e.g. George Soros, Bill Gates and Anthony Fauci have decided to take him out any way they can since he is the only one that can stop them.

part-four-of-the-dojDownload
Sep 19 2022

WEF Encourages Eating Expired Food                  


Armstrong Economics Blog/BRITAIN Re-Posted Sep 19, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Schwab is a rotten man. The World Economic Forum has convinced the UK to remove “best before” dates from food products in an effort to “conserve food waste.” In reality, these sick individuals do not care about human health and need a way to avert attention away from the coming food shortages brought on by their zero-emissions pipe dream.

The UK is set to remove “best before” and labels from around 500 products. When was the food shipped or packaged? It will be up to the consumer to use their best judgment. There are also plans to remove hundreds of “use by” dates on products. “Best buy” indicates the quality of the food, while “use by” indicates whether it is safe for consumption. The WEF insists that these dates are meaningless as it still may be safe to eat expired food. They even claim milk is the third most-wasted product in the UK, which is extremely dangerous to drink if expired.

Expiration dates first appeared in stores post-World War II as large consumer chain markets rose in popularity. Before then, you could talk to the sellers at mom-and-pop shops, and they tended to their products and clients. Perhaps you’d buy directly from the grower, depending on where you lived. You cannot ask an associate at Publix where, say, an apple came from and expect an accurate answer. Food arrives by truckloads now and often is imported from overseas.

So, the WEF would like us to eat bugs and expired foods. Rest assured that the elite will be eating the best, riding in their fossil-fueled powered and heated jets and yachts, and laughing as the rest of us suffer. Governments seem to be on board as they also do not want to admit failure via food shortages.

Sep 19 2022

Canada’s Private Sector on the Decline


Armstrong Economics Blog/Canada Re-Posted Sep 19, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Canada’s job recovery last year seemed strong according to standard measures. However, it was recently revealed that the majority of jobs were created in the public sector. Nearly 9 in 10 jobs created between 2020 and 2021 were in the public sector. Government, not business, is expanding. Between February 2020 and July 2022, private sector growth remained relatively stagnant after posting just a 0.4% increase. The public sector, on the other hand, rose 9.4% in that same period.

So out of the 366,800 jobs added to the economy during the pandemic, only 56,100 were jobs in the private sector. This is not good for Canada’s long-term growth. The private sector has declined from 49.3% to 48.2%, meaning the government is providing jobs for most of the population.

Three million Canadians lost their livelihoods during the pandemic, a 16% contraction, pushing the unemployment rate to 13% from 5.7%. Then the government decided to reopen slowly, very slowly, and brought the majority of the population under their control. You must adhere to all of Trudeau’s mandates as a government employee. The taxpayers help to partially fund these positions and governments cannot manage a bubble gum machine, let alone the livelihoods of the masses.

Statistics Canada recorded a 5.4% unemployment rate for August, an increase from July’s 4.9% posting. Yet, business is not growing. The government now composes a disproportionate number of jobs, and this completely alters the trajectory of the Canadian economy.

Sep 19 2022

Putin: Xi is On My Side


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Sep 19, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

China is no stranger to Western alienation and hostilities. Putin is looking to strengthen his alliance with China by affirming that Russia will adhere to China’s domestic policies as long as China repays the favor.  “We intend to firmly adhere to the principle of ‘One China’,” Putin stated as Taiwan has become a hot topic. Putin went on to say that he “condemns provocations by the United States and their satellites in the Taiwan Strait.” China was bordering on neutrality until recently coming under fire for its One China policy. China can now see itself in Russia.

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin met this Thursday in Uzbekistan for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine. Both want to end NATO expansion and agreed to a “no-limits” partnership. Xi warned Biden at the beginning of the year that sanctions on Russia could cripple the global economy. The US warned China to stay out of its affairs but then provoked China by sending leaders like Pelosi to Taiwan. The New World Order first targeted Donald Trump in an effort to remove him from power. Putin is second on their list, followed by Xi.

China knows that the US is in a decline and is strategically placing its finances and policies accordingly. When I met with the central bank of China, they were not bureaucrats – they were traders. When I was asked by people in the US Treasury upon my return what it was like, I responded that they only hired people with experience. They sent everyone to work on trading desks around the world, and then they returned to China to run the central bank. The West hires academics who believe reading a few books is sufficient experience. Similarly, politicians no longer understand diplomatic relations and are willing to sacrifice the economy to uphold petty perpetual disagreements while demonizing opponents.